R2-D2 Actor Kenny Baker Passes Away

Kenny Baker, a 3-foot 8-inch actor best known for portraying droid R2-D2 in the Star Wars series, has past away today on August 13, 2016. He was 81 years old after battling illness at his home in Preston, England. Born in Birmingham, United Kingdom in August 24, 1934, Baker’s death was broken by The Guardian by Baker’s niece, Abigail Shields. She had this to say:

“It was expected, but it’s sad nonetheless. He had a very long and fulfilled life. He brought lots of happiness to people and we’ll be celebrating the fact that he was well loved throughout the world. We’re all very proud of what he achieved in his lifetime.

“When he was a child, he was told that he probably wouldn’t survive through puberty, being a little person in those times, they didn’t have a very good life expectancy. He did extremely well in his life. He was very ill for the last few years so we had been expecting it. He had been looked after by one of his nephews, who found him on Saturday morning.”

The actor’s other credits include “Flash Gordon,” “The Elephant Man,““Amadeus,“ and “Willow.“Baker was married to his wife, Eileen, from 1970 until her death of epilepsy in 1993. He is survived by his 2 children.